Sun, Aug 26:  Wagon Trail Campground, Rowley’s Bay, WI:  Up this morning and did the laundry right away.  Got that chore behind us pretty quickly.  Sunday is a good day to do the laundry because most people are packing up to leave.  Today the owner was in there doing a load of cleaning cloths. First time we’ve shared the laundry room with anyone. The owner and her husband spend a couple of months in the Keys during the winter also.  They rent a house on Little Torch Key.  Maybe we’ll get together with them this winter.  A nice warm, sunny morning, so after lunch we planned on checking out a couple of new county parks between Egg Harbor and Sturgeon Bay.  Unfortunately, the weather turned.  Clouded up and started sprinkling.  The sprinkles didn’t last long, but it got noticeably cooler.  Stayed inside and watched a DVD we borrowed from the office.  A not so great movie with Dennis Quaid.  After that we started making beef tips and gravy for dinner tonight.  Served with mashed potatoes (Mike doesn’t like noodles) and a vegetable.  Smells really good in here.  Got the fireplace going and it’s nice and toasty in here. 

Wild flower in Peninsula State Park

Bike ride in Peninsula State Park back in 2010 when we spent the whole summer here.  I LOVED it.  Mike not so much.

Sat, Aug 25:  Wagon Trail Campground, Rowley’s Bay, WI:  Cloudy and cool again this morning.  But no rain.  We headed to the Viking Grill for a huge breakfast.  Came back and cleaned up our site and then walked the trail over to Rowley’s Bay and back.  The sun made an appearance later in the afternoon and it warmed up nicely.  We were thinking of taking the ferry over to Washington Island, but there’s a big barbecue event going on over there and the lines for the ferry are huge.  Nixed that idea and just hung out.  Upper 70s today.

Shops in Fish Creek

 

Fri, Aug 24:  Wagon Trail Campground, Rowley’s Bay, WI:  Cloudy and cool this morning.  Mike laid a fire and we sat around enjoying that for a while.  We went inside as the fire died down—just in time because it started to rain.  We watched a movie, played spades and read for a while.  A nice relaxing day.  Probably only in the 60s today.

Sturgeon Bay Lighthouse

Thu, Aug 23:  Wagon Trail Campground, Rowley’s Bay, WI:  This morning Mike suggested we go over to the Swedish bakery at Rowley’s and get a couple of cinnamon rolls.  No cinnamon roll for me, but we also bought three cherry turnovers.  Mike drove the truck over and I walked.  I got lost but eventually found the trail and finally made it there.  We sat outside on the patio at Rowley’s and Mike ate his cinnamon roll washed down with a cup of coffee and we enjoyed the view of the lake.  Back to our site and hung around for a while until I had to go for a nail appointment.  After that we went to the Northern Country Grill for dinner.  Seems all we do is eat when we’re up here.  82 today with not a cloud in the sky. 

Barns of Door County

Wed, Aug 22:  Wagon Trail Campground, Rowley’s Bay, WI:  While eating breakfast this morning I watched another episode of Downton Abbey on my laptop.  So glad our wi-fi gizmo works so well.  Then after a light lunch we headed out for our boat cruise.  And a beautiful day to do this.  A light chop on the water, but going through death’s door we had some big rollers.  We went out to Plum Island and then Pilot Island.  Checked out a couple of ship wrecks we could see from the boat.  Then we landed on Plum Island and checked out the historic Coast Guard station there.  Walked around and took some pictures of wild flowers on the island.  Then we boarded our boat and back to Gils Rock.  What a fun day and we met some nice people.  Burgers for dinner tonight.  78 today and mostly sunny. 

One of the first lake cottages at Gils Rock.

The Washington Island ferries--coming and going.

The Fog Horn House on Plum Island.

The Lighthouse and lighthouse keepers house on Plum Island.  Apparently there is a cable that runs from here to Washington Island and they warn people not to anchor here.

Shore line of Plum Island.

This is a "day marker"

and when it lines up perfectly, it means something to navigation.  I'm not sure what.

Our Captain Jim.

Pilot Island

Pilot Island light.

Pilot Island is taken over with cormorants.  The guano is three feet deep on this island.  They want to get rid of these birds but they are protected.  So apparently they destroy everything.  And the smell is pretty bad.

A view of the shipwreck Grape Shot, which happened pre-Civil War.

This was part of the hull.  They were carrying a load of lumber which was removed.

The boat house at the Coast Guard station.

Me with the boat house in the backgrounnd.

Wild flowers on the island.

More wild flowers.

Tue, Aug 21:  Wagon Trail Campground, Rowley’s Bay, WI:  Apparently it rained last night.   Windy and cool this morning.  We had the fireplace going.  Drove over to Sister Bay and I got my hair cut.  A very nice salon but uber expensive.  After my haircut we went to the Viking Grill for lunch.  Too windy to eat outside.  We each had whitefish chowder which was delicious.  Back home and tried to sit outside and read, but the wind was too much.  It has died down now.  Hope it’s not windy tomorrow for our cruise.  Mike has a tendency to get seasick.  Not good.  Only in the 60s today.

Barns of Door County.

This barn has cute little flower boxes in most of the windows.

Mon, Aug 20:  Wagon Trail Campground, Rowley’s Bay, WI:  A cloudy and gloomy day today.  Finally!  So, after breakfast I watched two episodes of Downton Abbey.  Read for a while.  Before we left St. Louis, I took out the latest tome by Ken Follett, “Column of Fire,” which is hard to put down.  I’m almost finished with the book and I hate to see it end.  Made an appointment to get my hair cut tomorrow.  Mike made a reservation to go on a lake cruise of the lighthouses in the area.  And, we will spend an hour or so at the historic Coast Guard Station on Plum Island.  Our reservation is for Wednesday.  Left-overs for dinner and then played spades for a while.  70s today and cloudy.

Sod roof of a Swedish restaurant in Sister Bay with goats hanging out.  Maybe the goats keep the grass down.  But they probably secretly mow it at night or something.